Father Figures
by Convenient Alias
Summary: Post Ruhenheim, Wim is left worried about his father, still in police custody. Tenma takes him to Dr. Reichwein's house, where nearly everyone else is staying, and he meets Dieter. Dieter can see some parallels between Wim and himself.


The boy's name is Wim.

He doesn't seem to be very happy about staying with Dr. Reichwein and Tenma and Nina and Eva and Dieter. With him, the house now has six people living in it, whereas only Dr. Reichwein was living there before. Dieter would feel guilty, but he knows that he's not the center of the problem. If anyone is, that would be Dr. Tenma.

In any case, Wim seems preoccupied. When Tenma introduces him to Dieter, he only mumbles back.

Of course, Wim is coming out of whatever insane battlefield Dr. Tenma has just left. And Dieter knows that whatever it was, it must have been pretty horrific. Tenma has been preparing for what he just left for months and years, since before Dieter even met him. And the monster was there, the monster that caused boys to risk their lives walking along the edges of rooftops, shot kindly old couples and inspired men like Hartmann to tell Dieter that the future could only be dark. The monster that ruined Tenma's life, which was doubtless the worst part.

Tenma tells Dieter that Wim faced the monster himself. Dieter gulps and nods. He understands.

Wim is upset and frightened. He needs help. And Tenma can't do everything at once, especially since the police know where he is now and even though he's out on bail, they're keeping a close eye on him and he's busy preparing for the trial.

Dieter knows he should avoid the entire subject of that faceoff between Tenma and the monster, but there are still thinks that he wants to know. So he takes Wim aside soon after he arrives and asks him, "Did Tenma shoot the monster?"

Wim stares at him, half confused and half fearful. Dieter feels guilty about the fear, so he ignores it and focuses on the confusion. He explains, "There was a monster that Tenma was hunting down. He was a blond young man. Did Tenma shoot him?" He doesn't know what he wants the answer to be. If it is yes, then Tenma has killed a man. If it is no, then Tenma has failed and will surely leave again.

(Dieter is tired of Tenma leaving. He followed Tenma in the first place because he saw the man as a father. These days he looks up more to Dr. Reichwein and Nina, but he still misses Tenma when he's gone. And Tenma is always going into danger, and one day, if this doesn't stop, he won't come back.)

Wim is staring at him, his face gone pale.

"I saw the monster," he says.

Dieter already knew that, but he also knows he has to be patient. But he wants to know the answer. He repeats, "When you saw the monster, did Tenma shoot him?"

Wim is silent for another moment, silent and trembling. Then he bursts into a stream of words, but he isn't talking about Tenma. He's talking about the monster and himself and his father (Dieter assumed he was an orphan like Dieter himself until now) and how it wasn't his father's fault. It takes a minute for Dieter to get him to slow down.

So Tenma didn't shoot the monster, but Wim's own father did. Dieter feels sorry for Wim, who is sure the police will have his father in jail for life, but half relieved that Tenma will not face the same fate (as long as the process of clearing his name works out), that Tenma is still innocent. Mostly innocent.

He is also relieved that that monster is off the streets, that it isn't killing people anymore.

But Wim is very upset, so Dieter knows that he cannot rejoice. Instead he asks him, "Your father shot the monster to protect you?"

Yes. The monster was holding Wim hostage, a gun to his head. Dieter thinks that must have been completely terrifying. He says, "You're safe now."

"They think my father's a monster," Wim says quietly, miserably. "My father is a good man."

Dieter nods.

"He did drink," Wim says, his voice catching. "But he's just sad, because Mother's gone and life is hard. He's sick. He's not a murderer."

Dieter frowns. Wim's father drinks? Enough so that even his son thinks that he's sick? Carefully, he asks, "Did your father ever hurt you?"

(Because he remembers Hartmann, dark corners and bruises in places where they wouldn't be seen, and sometimes you're too afraid to tell anyone and you can't get help, and sometimes the man who calls himself your father is just another monster in disguise.)

"No," Wim says, his eyes blazing. "He took my money, sometimes, but that was because he couldn't get a job. It wasn't his fault. And he would never hurt me. Never!"

Dieter half wants to believe Wim and half thinks that he's deluding himself, just like Dieter deluded himself for years, trying to believe that Hartmann wanted what was best for him, Hartmann loved him, until Tenma showed up and showed him what love and kindness were really like. On the other hand, Wim has already met Tenma. So he already knows what kindness is like...and besides, Tenma would probably tell him if Wim's father was a bad man. He knows that Dieter would understand.

So Wim's father is probably a good man. Since he shot the monster to protect Wim, Dieter supposes it makes sense.

"You're lucky," Dieter says softly.

"What?" Wim asks, taken by surprise. He has probably seen a lot of pity recently, many people telling him how unfortunate he is and how sorry they feel for him. It's no wonder he's feeling so protective of his father. Dieter wonders what the people have been saying.

"I never met my father," Dieter explains. "Not my real one. Until I met Doctor Tenma, I never knew anyone I could love as a father. You are lucky to have a father who loves you so much."

Wim smiles at him, tears beginning to leak out of the corners of his eyes. "Yes. I know."

Dieter smiles back at him.

And when Wim bursts into tears and can't even talk for a few minutes, Dieter sits next to him and pats his back, and doesn't tell anyone about it later. He tells Wim that his father will be all right, and he doesn't have to listen to the people who say his father is a bad man because they are wrong. People have said Tenma is a bad man, too. They can't really be trusted to get such things right.

Wim says he thinks Tenma is okay.

By dinnertime they're friends, and Dr. Reichwein and Eva are a little surprised, and Nina thinks it's cute (Dieter can tell by the way she keeps glancing over at them and grinning). As for Tenma, he seems pleased enough. But he's tired, so Dieter doesn't talk to him about Wim. Tenma can't do everything, and Dieter won't trouble him with this. He can take care of Wim himself.

* * *

AN: So I was just thinking that Dieter and Wim are kind of similar, and they both have experiences with less than perfect father figures, and they should totally meet. And when you write fanfiction, your thoughts can become your reality! Or at least your fanfic.

Reviews are always appreciated!


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